Jan 26, 2009

Skippy Lizzards to Tour TCI - March 2009

The TCIRFU is delighted to announce its first home fixture for the 2009 season. The Flamingos will be taking on the Skippy Lizards in Providenciales during the evening on March 6th 2009. This match will be the first home match since the TCI side hosted the Bahamian Cracked Conch side in the Flamingo Cup in April of 2007. This match will come hard on the heels of the return from Ft. Lauderdale of the TCI touring side, which will have ust competed in the prestigious Ruggerfest Tournament the preceding weekend (Feb 29th/Mar 1st). The home side will be match fit and providing not too many inuries are sustained, it’s hoped that the locals will be able to field a strong side to compete with this All Stars side based out of New York.
The Skippy Lizards are an invitational side that has a short but invigorating history. The Skippy Lizards RFC (est. 2004) was originally conceived to pay tribute to a Kiwi Coach named Paddy Bartlett and this influence is reflected in the silver fern on their crest.
In 2004, captain and founder Steve Raia and Coach Bartlett hand­picked the first side which would play in The Four Leaf Rugby Tournament (NYC). Conservatively entering the social division, The Skippy Lizards crushed the competition (including wins vs. New York RFC and Copenhagen, Denmark RFC) to win the championship. In 2008, The Lizards toured Texas to play Austin RFC narrowly losing 4 tries to 3. Our overall record stands at 4­1.
The team, which has evolved into strictly a touring side hand-picked by Raia, now features players from all parts of the USA (plus a player from England) that all share a common bond that embodies Coach Bartlett's style of playing good hard rugby on the pitch. For Turks & Caicos 2009 tour match, 5 players make their Lizards debut.
The TCIRFU will be continuing its twice weekly trainings on Tuesday and Thursday at the national Stadium. Trainings are open to all interested in playing rugby and commence at 6pm sharp. For further information please contact the TCIRFU Public Relations Officer at gareth@meridiantrust.tc or visit the TCI Rugby Football Union’s website http://www.rugby.tc for regular